The extra Photos that Blogger ate during my last post.

Bluff Maritme Museum.













On the ferry on the way to Stewart Island.








Beautiful Stewart Island.

Tuesday 26 - Saturday 30 January

Tuesday 26 January - Australia - was the day we officially finished out tour. So after breaky we said goodbye to all our tour friends & jumped on the motel shuttle bus to take us to the pick up our hire car.

We were on our way to Dunedin by 10.15. we stopped at Timaru for lunch and Omaru for an ice cream for afternoon tea. We got into Dunedin at 4.45 but our Nav man led us on a wild goose chase and we eventually arrived at our motel at 5.30. After settling in to our lovely studio room with a massive spa bath. we wandered up to Dunedin garden shops for tea at a lovely Italian restaurant called Filadelfias - had a very nice pizza.

Here a re a few of the sights of Dunedin we visited during our time there. Dunedin Railway station - the 2nd most photographed building int he Southern Hemisphere. We had to tour The cadbury chocolate factory. And we were excited to find a lone piper outside the Scottish shop.

Just down from our motel was a Church of Christ building, but someone had removed the last letter so it became the Church of Chris.

One of the reason we chose to do extra days on our own in NZ was to visit some of the places that were part of my fathers life. Dad born in Bluff but grew up in Port Chalmers with the Flynn family. I always thought that Bobby Flynn was dads cousin. This was the Flynn's family home.

We had a good wander around the Otago Harbour at Port Chalmers. we even saw a cruise ship that had docked for the day. I spent a bit of time talking to a local wharfie who was fishing on his day off just up form where the anchor in our photos was. He told me a bit about the original refrigerated containers.

We visited the Port Chalmers Museum to see if they had any more info on dad than what we knew but they didn't really. I did however update their computer records of dad's life and I am now listed as a contact person.

We did a bit of sight seeing in Dunedin when we got back from Port Chalmers. After dinner Haylee ran a bath in the spa bath but didn't' tell me she has put bubble bath in it, so when I got in the bath and turned on the spa the bubbles were enormous, you can barely see me lying on the bath. I rally had to coax Haylee into coming in an taking a piccy. It was a very relaxing end to a great day.

We left our motel at 10am after a bit of a sleep in. And headed to the Dunedin Chinese garden b4 the next part of our journey.

The Chinese gardens in Dunedin are really lovely. Not too big and you can see most of the garden from every point.

We drove to Invercargill after we left the gardens with a couple of stops on the way. Including lunch at Milton (Subway) and Gore. We arrived mid afternoon at Invercargil and easily found our way to Marje & Roy's home. Marje has been a craft forum friend and great support & encouragement to me for about 5 years but we have never met.Marje gave us a very quick tour around town. Including a trip to the museum to see if they could help with a photo that I had bought over with me, Roy had recognised it as the Old Bluff School, they had no record of the photo & suggested I checked with Rhonda at the Bluff Museum (we were heading there the next day).

Another place Marje took us to was Queens gardens. Was a lovely garden with all sorts of different areas for different purposes. It has the most amazing playground. Here we found a wheelchair swing , we had never seen one of these b4 but how fabulous is it.

These two bronze statues greeted us when we entered Queens park.

We were told by Phil on our tour that we had to visit the fastest Indian while we were in Invercargil - so these last 2 pics are for you Phil

Bluff was another important part of our trip as dad was born in Bluff. We went to the museum with a photo of the old Bluff school reunion that grandma was in, but as they were a maritime museum she was unable to help. She did however have a book with the same photo in it but it had no names.

The links at sterling Point, Bluff, in white and the other side of the links in Brown at Stewart. These link Stewart island to the main land.

Sign post at sterling Point.

Sterling Point, Bluff, the most southern point of NZ.

Beautiful Stewart Island. This is where dads family originate from, so was another important part of our trip. (Blogger just ate two of my photos so I will have to post them on a new post).

While we were on Stewart Island we went on the underwater cruise, this was quite amazing. We were in a glass sided boat and could see all the fish, seaweed and marine life. Part way through our cruise a pod of dolphins decided to join us. Haylee & I went up stair to get better pictures of them. Just love the way they play with the boat, racing it and darting in & out.

Marje & Roy Bremer and their doggy buddy. we stayed with at their home at Invercargill for two nights. They were great host and I am sopleased I finally got to meet them.

We left Invercargill to fly to Christchurch at 11.30 Saturday 30th January. From Christchurch home to Sydney. We arrived in Sydney around 4.20 and were home in Nowra at 7.35.

I loved our holiday and would go back in a heart beat BUT really there is no place like home. And our puppy was very happy to see us, this made it all the worth while coming home so did the home cooked roast lamb dinner Royce has waiting for us when we arrived home.

Monday 25 - day 13 to Christchurch

We left Twizel at 9am to head to Lake Tekapo and the most awesome church ever - The church of the Good shepherd. Lake Tekapo has lake has 7 glaciers feeding into it - notice how blue it is.




The tin shed was started as a way of local supporting each others skills. They have a great recycling thing going and has a great farm set up also. The shop had some wonderful hand craftd items. I bought a few more gifts here.

The tin shed. I just loved how they had their ladies room set up - I had to take a pic.

Group photo of our south Island tour party.

Sing of the Takahe (a native bird) on Cashmere Hill a very affluent part of Christchurch. Was originally built as a retirement home but is now a silver service restaurant.

View from Cashmere Hill lookout.

Sights of Christchurch.

A tram, church and the Canterbury Museum.

Steven saying goodbye to us at our motel. He was leaving us here for our last night and he was going home to his wife.

The museum parks fountain.

Gail with a quilt display at the museum

Haylee at the museum

Next two photos were taken at our last dinner.

Elaine & Phil Jackie, Graeme, Michelle & Lauren.

Lydia & Lidwig, Bill & Jennifer, Mary, Michelle & Marilyn & Peter.

After dinner Haylee, Michele, Mary & I wandered into town to attend a performance of the buskers festival. It was at the arts centre and was cmedy but not to my liking at all. Mostly sight gags and we were in seat that you couldn't really see. But we did get to see the city at night.

Sunday 24 January - day 12

8am start today. We are off to Mount Cook.

Just 20 minutes out of Dunedin is the Moeraki Boulders. These are quite amazing round rocks that are believed to have been formed in the cliffs, as wind and water eroded the cliffs, the boulders were exposed. These a re hollow inside and have hexagonal veins inside, some of these are exposed.

The Maori legend is that a war canoe had sunk in this area and the boulders are the food parcels.

Waitake power station. One of the many dams we passed.

The first pic is a dam builders hut. 2nd is one of the runner turbine first used in 1941. Last pic is the equipment that was once used to build the dams - now a kids playground.

Mount Cook

On route to Mount Cook we passed the Twizel River, which is a good fly fishing spot. Not sure if I have mentioned anywhere in my posts but there is NO commercial fishing allowed in NZ rivers, which gives the fish and the recreational fisherman a chance.

The airport had to be made to meld into the scenery so they made the buildings almost the same colour as the volcanic made mountains (this is what gives it that grey/blue look.

As we go higher up there are less and less trees.

One of the many snow covered mountain on route to Mt Cook.

When we turned a corner and could see Mt Cook for the first time our coach captain Steven showed us that her head was in a light but broken cloud covering and he felt that would disappear for us to see her in her full glory.

WHICH WE DID

Haylee & I on the scout camp trail, a 40 minute walk form our drop off point. We chose to walk up the trail about 15 minutes and back again.

Between Haylee & I we have over 50 photos of mount Cook it was hard to decide which were the best, so I simply chose 6 different pics and hope I have done it justice. I felt that a collage would be too small to see how majestically beautiful this Mountain is.

Mount Cook is the tallest Mountain in NZ. Was conquered by Sir Edmond Hillary. But on Christmas day 1893 three local lads, after hearing that an English expedition was on its way to conquer her, got in first and conquered her, two weeks prior to the English expedition.

With a few clouds floating by her.

Few more clouds.

Love this distance shot with the bush in the foreground.

Here she is in all her splendor and glory.

Can you see the face just below and to the left of her peak ( I couldn't until I saw my photos).

Mountain range to the left of Mount Cook, had some fabulous snow/avalanche formations, that just kept catching Haylee & my eye. I took half as many photos of this area as I did Mt Cook. It just had such character that I felt Mt Cook , although it was very beautiful to see and really quite majestic, lacked.

Twizel - our farewell night

Twizel was the last night we were ALL officially together so we had a meal together with a few drinks before hand. Steven gave a small thank you speech. We all agreed Steven is the BEST coach captain/bus driver ever. He was so informative for the whole trip but also very sensitive to the need for rest - so if he noticed many were sleeping he refrained from talking, . He went out of his way to do be helpful. AND he kept the cleanest bus in New Zealand if not the southern hemisphere, every night he cleaned his bus for two hours and the wheels were always the shiniest wheels I have ever seen.

We presented Steven with card that was signed by all of us.

Saturday 23 January - day 11 - Dunedin

6.15 wake up call this morning. Bags out, breaky by 7 & on the road by 8am.

We are heading to Dunedin today where we will have lunch and then head to Larnarch castle and Baldwin St - the steepest street in the world.

We drove through Gore which is halfway between Invercargill & Dunedin. Gore is the Country music capitol on NZ and sister city to Tamworth.

One of the amazing bridges we drove over while in NZ.

Lake Waihola.

St Paul's Cathedral, Dunedin.

Baldwin Street, the steepest street int eh world an no neither Haylee or I walked it, 17 member of our tour did though, even one who was still limping after ankle surgery in Decemeber.